Breathing aid administration device

ABSTRACT

A breathing aid device for administration of a gas to a patient comprising: a valve casing connected to a source of gas under pressure, a liquid reservoir located on the casing and a gas discharge outlet duct on the casing adapted for attachment thereto of an administration element, and a valve for controlling the flow of gas from the source to the outlet by way of the liquid reservoir. The valve is arranged so that when flow of gas to the outlet is halted the outlet is automatically opened to the atmosphere.

United States Patent lnventor Henry J. Adams Sulvania, Australia Appl. No. 659,160 Filed Aug. 8, 1967 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 Assignee The Commonwealth Industrial Gases Limited Priority Aug. 10, 1966 Australia 9497/66 BREATHING AID ADMINISTRATION DEVICE 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 128/ 145.8 Int. Cl A62b 7/00 Field of Search 128/ 142,

145,145.5145.8,186,187,188,194, 202, 203, 204 (Inquired); 137/2075 (inquired) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1932 Swope et al 3,018,777 l/l962 Dietrich 128/188 1,927,170 9/1933 l-lornor 128/202UX 2,141,794 12/1938 King 128/188 2,915,061 12/1959 Edmondson et a1. 128/188 3,262,446 7/1966 Stoner l28/145.8X 2,641,253 6/1953 Engelder 128/203X 2,855,144 10/1958 Andreasen l28/202X Primary Examiner-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Theatrice Brown Attorney-Beveridge & DeGrandi ABSTRACT: A breathing aid device for administration of a gas to a patient comprising: a valve casing connected to a source of gas under pressure, a liquid reservoir located on the casing and a gas discharge outlet duct on the casing adapted for attachment thereto of an administration element, and a valve for controlling the flow of gas from the source to the outlet by way of the liquid reservoir. The valve is arranged so that when flow of gas to the outlet is halted the outlet is automatically opened to the atmosphere.

PATENTEMAR 2m 3566, 866

mvEu-ro z'. HENRY J. ADAMS b v 640mm,

BREATHING AID ADMINISTRATION DEVICE This invention has reference to thetreatment of persons in whom natural breathing ability is impaired; that is, impaired to the point where the natural respirative action has ceased, or virtually ceased, as in the case of the near-drowned or where ordinary breathing ability remains, to some extent, but is difficult because of asthma, bronchitis or other disorder.

- There are many .ways of treating the several kinds and degrees of breathing impairment; and many different forms of apparatus for carrying out such treatment. For example, there is a common form of apparatus for pulsatively establishing high and low gas pressures in the lungs-in an effort to restart or reinforce the muscular action necessary for natural breathing. This treatment is sometimes carried out with ordinary air, oxygen enriched air, pure oxygen, or other gas or gaseous mixture.

In other cases, gas is administered partly, or even merely, as

v a vehicle for administration of a vaporized or atomized liquid such as a liquid broncho-dilator medium. In the simplest of such cases, where the patient is conscious, the apparatus involved may be no more than the ordinary hand-operated nasal spray by which the treatment may be self-administered. With this kind of sprayer air is used solely as a vehicle for introducing an atomized treatment liquid into the nasal passages; and, to some extent, to the more inward passages of thepatients breathing system.

The existing forms of apparatus for breathing aid administration are largely satisfactory in providing the required breathing relief, but they are open to objection in several other respects. For example, such apparatus as used in hospitals -is relatively large and complex, it requires the presence and attention of qualified persons to control gas pressures, flow rates and the like; it is not readily transportable to or capable of being speedily setup at any place where a patient may be stricken and urgently in need of attention; and, it is not suited for self administration.

There are other kinds of breathing aids which are much less complex and unwieldy by comparison with the hospital type of apparatus referred to just above. Thisapplies particularly to those aids which have no purpose beyond administration of a liquid as a nasal spray;-but this type of device is usually operable by squeezing a rubber bulb or the like, and provides virtually no control over such thingsfas air pressure, flow rate or concentration of the curative liquid used in them, and fineness of liquid atomization; moreover; they are useless for resuscitative purposes. 1 g

The object of, this invention is to overcome the indicated shortcomings by the provision of a breathing aid administration device which is simple, lightweight and compact, and which by comparison with the known prior. devices has a far greater universality of application in the treatment of the widely different conditions under which breathing aid of one kind or another is required.

The invention consists in a breathing aid administration device comprising: a valve casing, means for connecting the interior of said casing to a source of gas under pressure, a

liquid reservoir on said casing, a gasdischarge outlet duct on said casing adapted for attachment thereto of an administration element, and valve means for controlling flow of gas from said source to said outlet by way of saidreservoir, said valve means being arranged so that when flow of gas to said outlet is halted said outlet is automatically opened to atmosphere.

An example of the invention is illustrated in the drawings has four main parts; a valve chamber 5 in the form of a cylinder, a liquid reservoir in the form of a cup 6 joined by its floor to and above the valve chamber, a gas discharge outlet duct which extends as a tube 7 downwardly through the floor of the reservoir past the inner end of the valve chamber and which, below the level of that chamber, is formed as a nozzle 8 to which an administration element may be secured in conventional manner.

This administration element may be a conventional facemask 9 which may be used where the patient is prone or unconscious, or (see'FIG. 3) a mouthpiece 10 (also of conventional kind) which may be used by a patient who is conscious. The fourth parts of the casing is an exhaust duct 11 which opens from one side of the discharge duct so that under certain circumstances the discharge duct may be opened directly to atmosphere.

The inner end of the valve chamber 5 opens to a gas delivery duct 12 by way of a valve seating orifice 13. This seating is closable by a valve closure flange 14 on a valve stem 15 which extends through the gas delivery duct and into and through the gas discharge duct where its emergent end 16 confronts a closure plate 17 in the exhaust duct 11. The outer end of the valve stem extends through the outer end of the valve chamber by gas-tightly extending through a closure cap 18 applied to that end of the chamber. A boss 19 is fixed on the outer emergent end of the valve stem and the forward face of this boss normally contacts the arms 20 of a stirrup lever 21 which is fulcrumed at 22 on the casing and is fashioned as a handpiece, depression of which, by causing the stirrup arms to move the mentioned boss, is instrumental in moving the valve flange 14 from its seating 13 at the inner end of the valve chamber.

The flange 14 is loaded by a spring 23 housed in the valve chamber. This spring influences the flange 14 to assume or remain in closed position. The valve chamber, adjacent the seating 13, has a nipple 24 for attachment of a gas supply pipe from any convenient source of the required gas under pressure such source being a compressed gas bottle or the like as well understood. When the closure flange 14 is closed gas can flow into the valve chamber but no further, when the closure flange is in open position, by operation of handpiece 21, gas is able to flow through the seating 13 into the gas delivery duct 12 through which the valve stem 15 extends.

A gas bleeder duct 25 branches from the gas delivery duct 12 and opens into the liquid reservoir at or near the floor thereof. The bleeder duct is preferably in the form of the bore of a removable jet 26 screwed into a hole in the floor of the liquid reservoir, and for preference this bore has a number of fine drillings 27 radiating therefrom so that gas arriving in the liquid reservoir will do so in the form of a large number of variously directed fine streams. If desired, the portion of the jet nozzle within the liquid reservoir may be surrounded by a baffle 28 laid on the floor of the reservoir still further to assist in the break up and distribution of incoming gas streams.

The liquid reservoir is furnished with a gasketted lid 29 so that the reservoir, or rather the open upper end thereof (through which liquid may be supplied to it) may be gastightly closed when the device is in use. When the reservoir has been charged with liquid and gas is bubbling through this liquid, liquid droplets will be entrained in the gas for departure from the reservoir by way of the mentioned discharge duct whereof the upper end 30 is in the form of an open-ended tube the upper end of which opens at or near the top of the reservoir and the lower end of which is the mentioned nozzle 8 for attachment of an administration element as referred to previously herein.

When the device is being used with a treatment liquid in the reservoir, droplets of the liquid will be picked up by the gas streams and it is, of course, desirable for these droplets to be as small as possible. There will be a strong tendency for oversized droplets to impinge against the underside of the reservoir lid 29 instead of taking the sharp turn necessary to enter the upper end of the discharge duct 30 and these impinging droplets will, of course, fall back into the stock of liquid in the reservoir. To assist this process (of preventing oversized droplets reaching the discharge duct) an extra baffle is preferably included in the reservoir, This baffle is of mushroom or umbrella form comprising a central stem 31 and a canopy 32 which is notched or holed 33 about its periphery. The baffle simply rests freely within the reservoir so that liquid laden gas sweeps the underside of the canopy and then sharply turns upwardly towards the lid of the reservoir by passing through the notches or holes in the canopy. By the presence of such a baffle oversized droplets will be largely turned back into the supply of liquid instead of proceeding to the discharge duct.

An opening 34 is provided in one side of the discharge duct. This opening leads to an exhaust duct 35 which is open to atmosphere. The opening is closable by the closure plate 17 which (as previously mentioned) is confronted by that end 16 of the valve stem which intrudes into and through the discharge duct. The valve plate is loaded by a spring 36 of such strength that in the event of unduly high gas pressure in the discharge duct, it may open in the manner of a safety valve.

The exhaust duct has its outer end closed by a cap 37 providing a backing for one end of the loading spring 36. This cap may be axially adjustable, for example, by being threaded in the exhaust duct, or by having a helical slot 38 in its skirt engaging a fixed pin 39, so that rotation of the cap will vary the loading effect of the valve plate spring 36. Preferably this adjustability is by way ofa pin and helical slot, as just referred to, thus giving the cap two significant halting positions which may correspond to a required maximum pressure in the discharge duct suitable for treatment of an adult and a lower maximum pressure suitable for treatment of a child.

The valve stem, whereof the inner end 16 confronts the valve plate 17, is so arranged that when supply of gas to the gas delivery duct is halted by seating of the valve closure flange 14 (due to relaxation of hand pressure on the handpiece 21) the stem end 16 bears against the closure plate 17 so to dislodge it from its seating to place, the discharge duct and the exhaust duct 35 in direct communication, and thus open to atmosphere, so that exhalation of a patient will be free of restraint without necessity for the face mask or other administration element to be dislodged from the patient.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that gas supplied to the patient may be loaded with atomized treatment liquid, or, on the other hand, if pure gaseous treatment is required, such treatment may be given simply by refraining from putting any liquid in the liquid reservoir. There are other circumstances of treatment however, where the gas reaching the patient is required to have a relatively light concentration of atomized liquid in it. To enable this form of treatment to be carried out the illustrated embodiment of the invention (as described above) has a bypass duct 40 formed in the valve stem. This bypass duct is such as to place the delivery and discharge ducts (l2 and 17) in direct communication when required so that when the valve closure flange 14 is moved to open position, gas will be able to flow directly into the delivery duct 7. Some gas will still proceed through the liquid reservoir as previously explained, but the remainder of the gas will proceed directly to the discharge duct thus bypassing the liquid reservoir.

The bypass duct may be put into action only when required. It may be rendered inoperative simply by not fully depressing the handpiece 21. In this way gas may pass through the seating 13 but the side passage 41 leading to duct 40 will remain closed by not being exposed within the delivery duct 12. Alternatively, the valve stem 15 and the boss 19 on the outer end thereof may be rotatable within the limits imposed by pin 42 intruding into a slot 43 in the boss. This provides for two limit positions for passage 41. In one position of the valve stem the gas entrance end 41 'of the bypass duct remains closed relative to the gas delivery duct and in the second position it is open to that duct by wa of port-groove indicated at 44. If desired, the groove 44 may e acutely tapered so that the effective area of the gas entrance end 41 of the bypass duct may be varied either by selective rotation of the valve stem (where the tapered port runs circumferentially of the valve stem) or by variable longitudinal movement of the valve stem (where the tapered port is disposed longitudinally of the valve stem).

It will be appreciated that an important aspect of the present invention is that by use of the aid device subject hereof, a patients lungs can be inflated by administered pressure gas. This is desirable in many cases as, for example, where a broncho-dilater medium is being used, as it will enhance penetration of the medium deeply into the lung structure; moreover, penetration of gas under pressure into the alveoli is helpful in clearing obstructing matters; and this, together with a degree of distension of the lung tissue will provide increased area for gas transfer into and from the bloodstream.

Iclaim:

1. A breathing aid administration device comprising a valve casing, a valve chamber in said casing which is closed at one end and opensto a gas delivery duct by way of a valve seating orifice at the other end, means for feeding gas under pressure into said chamber, a liquid reservoir on said casing, a gas bleeder duct through which said delivery duct communicates with the bottom of said reservoir, a gas discharge outlet duct whereof the upper end opens to the top of said reservoir and the lower end is adapted for attachment thereto of an administration element, an opening in said discharge duct which leads to atmosphere, a closure plate able to close said opening, a first loading spring which influences said closure plate to remain in closed position, a valve stem which extends through said chamber and through said discharge duct there to confront said closure plate, a valve closure flange on said stem able to seat on said valve seating, a second loading spring which influences said closure flange to remain in closed position, and means for retracting said closure flange from said valve seating; the arrangement of said valve stem and the respective strengths of said first and second loading springs being such that when said closure flange is seated on said seating said closure plate is displaced from its closed position by said stem thereby to open said discharge duct to atmosphere.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said valve stem has a bypass duct formed in it whereby said delivery duct may be placed in direct communication with said gas discharge outlet duct.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said bypass duct includes a side passage, and said casing has a port-groove formed in it with which said side passage may be brought into register by part rotation of said valve stem.

4. A device according to claim 1 which includes a closure cap which constitutes a backing for said first loading spring, said cap being part rotatable thereby to vary the loading effect of said first loading spring.

5. A breathing aid administration device comprising: a valve casing, a valve chamber in said casing which is closed at one end and opens to a gas delivery duct by way ofa valve seating orifice at its other end, a closure in said chamber which normally keeps said seating orifice closed, means for connecting the interior of said chamber to a source of gas under pressure, a liquid reservoir on said casing having its bottom communicating with said gas delivery duct, a gas discharge outlet duct having an upper end open to the top of said reservoir and a lower end constructed for attachment thereto of an administration element, manually operable means for moving said closure from said seating orifice, and valve means which opens the outlet duct to atmosphere when said seating orifice is closed by the closure. 

1. A breathing aid administration device comprising a valve casing, a valve chamber in said casing which is closed at one end and opens to a gas delivery duct by way of a valve seating orifice at the other end, means for feeding gas under pressure into said chamber, a liquid reservoir on said casing, a gas bleeder duct through which said delivery duct communicates with the bottom of said reservoir, a gas discharge outlet duct whereof the upper end opens to the top of said reservoir and the lower end is adapted for attachment thereto of an administration element, an opening in said discharge duct which leads to atmosphere, a closure plate able to close said opening, a first loading spring which influences said closure plate to remain in closed position, a valve stem which extends through said chamber and through said discharge duct there to confront said closure plate, a valve closure flange on said stem able to seat on said valve seating, a second loading spring which influences said closure flange to remain in closed position, and means for retracting said closure flange from said valve seating; the arrangement of said valve stem and the respective strengths of said first and second loAding springs being such that when said closure flange is seated on said seating said closure plate is displaced from its closed position by said stem thereby to open said discharge duct to atmosphere.
 2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said valve stem has a bypass duct formed in it whereby said delivery duct may be placed in direct communication with said gas discharge outlet duct.
 3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said bypass duct includes a side passage, and said casing has a port-groove formed in it with which said side passage may be brought into register by part rotation of said valve stem.
 4. A device according to claim 1 which includes a closure cap which constitutes a backing for said first loading spring, said cap being part rotatable thereby to vary the loading effect of said first loading spring.
 5. A breathing aid administration device comprising: a valve casing, a valve chamber in said casing which is closed at one end and opens to a gas delivery duct by way of a valve seating orifice at its other end, a closure in said chamber which normally keeps said seating orifice closed, means for connecting the interior of said chamber to a source of gas under pressure, a liquid reservoir on said casing having its bottom communicating with said gas delivery duct, a gas discharge outlet duct having an upper end open to the top of said reservoir and a lower end constructed for attachment thereto of an administration element, manually operable means for moving said closure from said seating orifice, and valve means which opens the outlet duct to atmosphere when said seating orifice is closed by the closure. 